Countering the dangerous drumbeat for Obamacare's repeal: Editorial

The most recent House vote was Aug. 2; again, all six of New Jerseyâs Republican congressmen voted for repeal.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, speaking, and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez join Rite Aid CEO John Standley as the pharmacy chain announces new resources to help its customers prepare for the Affordable Care Act at the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Hoboken on Monday, Sept. 9. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal

It’s no secret that Republicans invented “Obamacare.”

In the 1980s, the conservative Heritage Foundation drafted a health care proposal that is remarkably similar to the Affordable Care Act. When he was Massachusetts governor, universal health care was Mitt Romney’s biggest political victory — until he was forced to disavow it.

Three years after Obamacare became law, the far right’s stubborn campaign to undo it won’t die. The opposition is more about the president than the policy. A newcomer could be forgiven for thinking the U.S. health care debate is nip-and-tuck — unaware that Obamacare was passed in 2010, survived a Supreme Court challenge and is deep into its implementation phase. Sign-ups start next month.

Nevertheless, Rite Aid deserves credit for this week’s announcement that it will host insurance agents in its pharmacies to explain the ACA, beginning Oct. 1. Sure, it’s a practical customer service. Unfortunately it risks partisan backlash.

Repeal has been a persistent drumbeat in the GOP-controlled House, which has voted to do so 40 times. The most recent House vote was Aug. 2; again, all six of New Jersey’s Republican congressmen voted for repeal.

The latest tactic: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wants to defund the law, and threatens a government shutdown if he doesn’t get his way.

There’s more: The Star-Ledger’s Dan Goldberg reported last week that House Republicans are fishing for dirt from groups getting federal grants to teach New Jersey’s uninsured about the program, which 57 percent of Americans don’t want defunded, according to a Kaiser Health Foundation poll.

The anti-Obamacare marathon is muddying public opinion in a dangerous way: 44 percent think the Affordable Care Act was repealed, overturned in court or aren’t even sure it’s still a law. That’s a misinformation gap that could keep poor families from getting coverage. That’s the best reason for Republicans to finally drop their quixotic assault.